roots of wanderlust.

Growing up, one of my favorite books was one called "Children Like Me." It was put out by UNICEF and it had different pages devoted to different children around the world.  You learned about their life, where they live, their families and their hobbies.  I would spend hours pouring over it, entranced by the different children's' home countries and cultures. I dreamed of far-off lands and people I longed to meet.

Thus began my early indoctrination into my wanderlust ways.

As I grew older, this love and curiosity about people and places grew into a healthy obsession with non-fiction books and magazines the likes of National Geographic. I was, at times, interested in the articles about animals and advances in technology. But what really captivated me were the stories about people. I have always loved learning, and the thing that always intrigued me most was learning about people, like myself, half a world away. I wondered what their daily life was like, and not from a voyeuristic standpoint- I wanted to experience life.

In the book "Children Like Me", there was a girl named Celina who lived in the Amazon region of Brazil.

 I remember being entranced by her life and her story. Never could I have dreamed as a seven year-old, reading on my stomach on the brown shag carpet, that I would one day be able to visit (and live in!) the region she called home.

My life in Brazil thus far is an utter blessing. I work at UFPA (the Federal University of Para - Braganca campus). I team-teach with some wonderful people, and I am currently team teaching a course on Phonetics and Phonology, which I am so nerdily excited about it's sick. I have drafted a few ideas for mini-courses that I hope to be able to teach while I am here, and I am meeting with the Ministry of Health to begin working with organizations in the community that help combat child prostitution. I have lots of ideas, but need to know what framework is out there to begin implementing it. Basically, I am really itching to get going.

We are blessed with wonderful friends here as well.  In Braganca, if you have a 5 minute conversation with someone, you basically have a new friend.  You are invited over for dinner, to a party, to their aunt's house on the beach, etc. It is of my many perks of life in a small town - you may not have nightlife (or a lot to do, in general), but the people are warm and welcome you with (often literally) open arms.

Oh! And I have begun training for a half-marathon in Rio de Janeiro!  Yay!


Fun facts about Braganca:

- While at the gym with a friend, Vladson, he asked what my usual work-out routine is. I said that I run, life weights etc. He said that women here basically just do exercises to make their butts bigger.  When I told him, self-deprecatingly, that I had no problem in that area, I already had a huge one, he looked me square in the eye and said "Oh yes, they (the women) are very jealous of you." So, chalk one up for the big booty girls!

- At the university we have large, beefy security guards with large, intimidating guns. Their job is to turn on the air conditioning. Literally.

- I never thought that it would happen, but the other day, I was actually cold. It was probably 78 degrees.

- Houses and apartments here come, for the most part, unfurnished. And by unfurnished, I mean, you don't have a fridge, a stove, or a toilet seat. But fear not! Casually mention to your friends that you are lacking said things, and within a month it will all be donated to you from friends of friends of people you just met. The unbelievable kindness of strangers.

I feel so lucky to have been given this amazing opportunity. From my early interests to present work, I have always felt this quote to be very true and special to my heart:


"Grownups have this strange way of putting themselves in compartments and groups. They build up barriers... of religion, of chaste, of color, of party, of nation, of province, of language, of custom, and of wealth and poverty. Thus, they live in prisons of their own making."
- Jawaharlal Nehru

Everything you ever wanted to know about fruit.

Okay, that title was a bit of an exaggeration. But here is an introduction to Amazonia fruit, at least!

The Amazon region is famous for a great many things, not the least of which being it's diversity of flora and fauna. Coming here, I thought I knew fruit. I was wrong. Walking through the market you see dozens upon dozens of varieties of fruit that I had never heard of, never knew existed. I'd like to share with you some of the most popular fruits of my state, Pará.

Fun fact: açaí is pronounced AH - sigh - eee

Brazil nut

Mango

Star fruit

This is what chocolate is made from!

Maria: resident of amazonia, eater of fish

The lights show began, signaling to the now-hushed crowd of college bros, chicks and hipsters that the show was about to begin.  To my delight, four mop-topped middle-aged men emerged to face the crowd of college kids, armed only with guitars, bass, and matching grey suits with black turtlenecks (horrifically out of place in the 85 degree weather).  Whatever doubt I held of their rocking talent, however, quickly evaporated as the band burst into an unbelievable rendition of  "Daytripper."  The crowd went wild, singing along to every word, and suddenly the slightly dorky pentagenarians were full-fledged rock stars, with an adoring 20-something fan base. Amidst the rolicking concert comraderie of Beatlemania, it suddenly hit me:

Am I really in Brazil???

I must admit, this trip so far has been ALL about shattering perceptions. Perceptions that I didn´t even know I held. From São Paulo, we departed to Belém, the capitol city of the state of Pará. A city of 2 million, it is located roughly where the Amazon river meets the ocean. The flight from São Paulo to Belém was an experience of mystical proportions -- looking out the window at the vast Amazon rainforest - nothing but jungle and the mighty Amazon as far as the eye could see.  It was a first-hand Planet Earth-type experience. It wasn't until right before we touched down, that out of the sprawling green carpet of the rainforest emerged a booming metropolis. Right here, in amazonia, I was going to a Beatles cover band concert.  Talk about surreal.

I have read that Brazilians are among the friendliest people in the world, and was told by Paulistano friends (people from the city of São Paulo), that people in the north are the friendliest.  Even armed with this information, I have been (and continue to be) completely blown away by kindness.  From the moment we stepped off the plane in Belém, we were greeted with dozens of students and teachers meeting us at the arrival gate with handmade "WELCOME ETAS!" signs. We were hugged and kissed and shuttled off to our welcome party at the university (the first of many). Armed with little portuguese, and many new friends, we set off to get to know them and our surroundings.

Our first friends (and surrogate mothers) were the teachers with whom we would be working at the university. They have taken their "help the ETA's if the have questions" instruction, to a whole new level (for a more in-depth description of some of these amazing women, please check out Cory's blog at www.floodingbrazil.blogspot.com).They have invited us into their homes, cooked us amazing food, helped us navigate the confusing beurocracy of buying cell phones and registering at the federal police, all with grace and pleasure.  We would be lost without them.

One new mini-endevour I have embarked on while being here could be loosely described as 'broadening my culinary horizons'.  A vegetarian of 7 years, I have to say, I was a little nervous about my options in meat-happy Brazil. I was right. So, I am trying to enter the world of eating fish. This is made simpler by the fact that I live near the amazon, a bunch of other rivers, and the ocean - so fish is, suffice it to say, fresh and abundant. There is also the fact that, if I didn't eat fish here, my options when eating out are limited. And by limited, I mean, non-existant.

"But Maria, why don't you just eat at home and cook your own veggie friendly meals?" you may ask. Well, that brings me to my next topic of interest regarding Brazil: unfurnished apartments/houses. We recently got our own house (Jessica- the other ETA, Cory and I) and it is amazing. Beautiful. Enormous. And empty. In Brazil, 'unfurnished' literally means unfurnished. For example, in our house we don't have a fridge, a stove, or a toilet seat.  Unfurnished. So, until we do find said items, I am at the mercy of the restaurants of Brazil.

After spending some time in Belém, we arrived in Bragança, the city of our placement for the nine months that we will be in Brazil.  It is an beautiful old colonial town at the base of a river adorned with colorful fishing boats. We are the first Fulbright ETA's ever to be placed here, so we are the object of much curiosity. I have never been asked to have pictures taken with me so much in my life (a pseudo celebrity moment compounded by the fact that the students think that Jessica (the other ETA) looks just like Gisele Bündchen). Students are all about Facebook, which is adorably pronounced "Facey-bookie" here (other adorable pronunciations: Hip-Hop = "hippie hoppie", laptop = "lappie toppie" etc.).  Still getting to know my surroundings and making friends, I am getting good vibes from this place.

So far, so good Bragança.

 Some of us ETA's (and Cory) with the university students in Belem

 A heron at the Museo Emilio Goeldi in Belem

I forget what this little guy's name is, but they were all over!

 Giant lily pads at the Museo Emilio Goeldi in Belem

 Turtles!  At the Museo Emilio Goeldi in Belem

Big guy

 Typical paraense meal - fish, rice, farinha, and acai

 Beatlemania!

 Dinner at Silvia's (2nd from left) house with other teachers and ETA's

 Teaching!

 The folk dance that originated in Braganca - the marujada

 More awesome folk dancing

 Us with some of the students

Flag of the state of Para, flag of Brazil, flag of USA, and flag of Braganca

Hipsters, Smog, Friends, and São Paulo

We have been in Brazil eleven days, and already so much has happened that my mind is reeling trying to articulate it.


São Paulo. Largest city in the southern hemisphere, a gargantuan 18-25 million people, depending on whom you ask. A true city of immigrants, with huge communities of Italians, Lebanese, and the largest population of Japanese outside of Japan. Walking the streets of São Paulo, you shatter whatever amazonian-National Geographic-Brazil perceptions you had coming here. A megalopolis with skyscrapers as far as the eye can see, São Paulo is indeed a jungle, but a concrete one at that.  My favorite traveling foodie, Anthony Bourdain has described São Paulo as feeling as though "L.A. threw up on New York." And it could not be more apt. A beautiful city it is not, however São Paulo has charms hidden behind closed doors, in removed oasises with fabulously welcoming people (even if their gated condo-complexes aren't).


Having reunited with the other Fulbright ETA's (English Teaching Assistants), and having met wonderful people from the Fulbright Commission in Brazil, we were ready to go out and experience "Brazil"!  Coming down here, I had fooled myself into believing that because I was coming to Brazil not knowing as much about the culture, that somehow, I was coming down without any preconceived notions.  While partially true (I was open to whatever was to happen, and any experience that should come my way), I was unaware of my perceptions of Brazil, due largely to my 1990's childhood cartoon indoctrination about saving the rainforest and mother earth. Imagine my surprise when we went out to a 'typical Brazilian bar' that was... full of hipsters. 


Let me paint this picture. We walk down the shiny gritty streets of sprawling São Paulo, in to what can only be described as an artsy alternative hipster bar. Piercings, sleeve tattoos, flannel and PBR equivalent beverages abounded in this establishment with indie-rock blaring and paintings of colorful men puking decorating the walls. Ah, it felt like home. Well, that is, if home was a place that looked and felt like the U.S., but spoke Portuguese, a language I am only nominally familiar with. Gotta work on that. 


It was hard to say goodbye to our fellow ETA's, but our journey, into the amazon, was about to begin.

Eating vegetarian food (!!!) at the Mercado Municipal

This is for you, Danny.

*Oh, I should say this - these thoughts and opinions are solely mine, and do not reflect the thoughts and opinions of the Fulbright Commission and it's programs.* 

Adventure awaits!

12 hours to airport. 24 hours to Brazil.


How did this happen?  Yes, I am currently finishing packing. Yes, I am a tad bit over my head, but that is to be expected, after all. 


My name is Maria. I am 26 years old and starting tomorrow, I will be a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Brazil. Although I was a Latin American Studies major, I speak very little portuguese and have never been to Brazil. I have no idea what awaits me, and I find that exhilarating.


I started this blog to document my journey and experience in Brazil.  Nine months to live, breathe, and dive head-first into a culture not my own, and I relish the opportunity.  My personal travel mantra for this trip, as well as trips past, stems from a quote from the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button":


"For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."


 I can't wait to be startled.